The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte may have obtained “historically positive numbers” in the last Social Weather Stations government performance poll, but the government will not be complacent and “will continue to find ways to improve its plans and programs in order to better serve our people.”
This according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who in a press briefing on Friday in Palo, Leyte said that the public’s “vote of confidence” should be rewarded by “ramped up efforts to improve government services.”
“We are encouraged by the numbers. The net satisfaction rating with the overall performance of the government is the highest ever obtained by an administration two and a half years into its term. The challenge to us is to maintain or improve these numbers,” stressed Nograles.
In the SWS December 16-19, 2018 poll, the Duterte Administration obtained an overall net performance rating of +66%, a figure higher than the +57% net performance rating obtained by the Aquino Administration in December 2012, the -2% net performance rating obtained by the Arroyo Administration in November 2006, the +2% net performance rating obtained by the Estrada Administration in December 2000, and the +17% net performance rating obtained by the Ramos Administration in December 1994.
The government got net positive ratings in all 17 different areas reviewed by SWS, obtaining the highest marks for promoting women’s rights (+71), building and maintenance of public works (+70), helping the poor (+68), protecting human rights (+62), reconstructing Marawi City (+60), fighting terrorism (+55), transparency in government activities (+54), and deciding quickly (+50).
The Palace official, who was in Leyte to chair a CAS (Cabinet Assistance System) meeting and to inspect Yolanda resettlement sites in the province, said that agency officials noted that “the government’s net performance ratings increased in 14 out of the 17 categories polled by SWS.”
“Given this, what I said last month in the 2018 SWS Survey Review still applies today. Based on these surveys, our countrymen believe their government is there for them when disaster strikes; they believe it is there for women, the poor, and our OFWS,” noted the former lawmaker.
According to Nograles, the surveys also show that the public also believes “the government is doing a good job fighting terrorism and fighting crimes while protecting human rights; they believe the government is decisive, transparent, and truthful; and they believe that government is doing what it can to attain peace and to uphold our sovereignty.”
“I will likewise repeat what I said at the end of the SWS survey review: while these numbers are encouraging, we are not satisfied, and it behooves those of us in government not to be satisfied.”
The former Davao representative said that one of the purposes of holding CAS meetings in the provinces was to provide government functionaries with an opportunity “to touch base with our constituents on the ground and to see firsthand how government can uplift the lives of our people.”
“Sometimes with the volume of work on our desks, with the many meetings we have to attend, we need to be reminded of why we are doing what we do and for whom we are doing this for. That is what he hope to achieve with these meetings here.”
